


Encounters

by NessieFromSpace



Series: Rare Pair Extravaganza [2]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Camping, Cop!Wilhelm, Crash Landing, M/M, Wilhelm is Rhys' dad, and then
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-07 19:12:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15914517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NessieFromSpace/pseuds/NessieFromSpace
Summary: Zer0 crash lands while Rhys, Yvette and Vaughn are camping. Rhys rescues the alien.August is a bad boy Rhys and been pining afterwards. When he finally gets the courage to ask to join his gang, August agrees, with on test. Rhys has to lie to a cop, Wilhelm, specifically. Is Rhys prepared to lie to his father?





	1. An Alien Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Answers for an ask on tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/post/177822002692/how-about-zer0rhys-or-augustrhys

Rhys, Yvette and Vaughn had only been camping for two days when Rhys woke up in the middle of the night. They’d escaped to the campsite to get Vaughn away from a breakup and it seemed to be working. They hiked, roasted marshmallows and swam in the lake. They’d even tried their hands at fishing, with Yvette coming out the victor. It was a great getaway in Yvette’s expensive RV with a queen sized bed they all shared.

But Rhys had woken up in a sweat, sandwiched tightly between Vaughn and Yvette, whose limbs wrapped around him. He groaned, his head dizzy. He groggily wiggled out from under their tight grips, quietly swearing at them as he tugged himself free. They quickly filled up the space, making him realize he’d have to sleep on the couch. He huffed and pulled on a jacket, slipped into his shoes without socks and left.

Flashlight in hand, he started walking. At first he walked around the campground, hoping to cool down and then go back to sleep, but he was awake now. He sighed and headed for the large field a short walk from the camp. It was huge and let him look fully at the night sky.

He sat on the ground and stared at all the stars twinkling vividly. He noticed, then, a large empty space that was growing larger and larger. As it drew nearer, he realized it was a small intricate plane falling from the sky. Rhys braced for impact, the ground shaking as the plane landed ten feet away, tearing up the earth.

He leapt to his feet, but froze, wondering if he should run to get help. Instead, he ran towards the advanced looking plane, scanning for any way to enter it and help whoever was inside. The metal was incredible, smooth and seamless and it made him pause so he could touch his hand to it. It was cool and seemed to shudder under his fingers. Rhys frowned, leaning into it without thought. “Are… Are you okay in there?” He had no idea what had possessed him to talk to the plane, but there it was. He was about to pull away when a pearlescent orange hand with sharp claws reached through the metal and grabbed Rhys’ wrist.

Startled, Rhys jerked back, pulling the hand with him. It grew, becoming a whole body of the same color. It collapsed against Rhys, bringing both of them to the ground. Rhys stared at the thing in his arms. Seven eyes, all different colors, stared at him, sharp teeth peeking out from a slightly open mouth. It was tall, slender and grabbed at him desperately.

Rhys’ eyes widened, realizing finally what was happening. This wasn’t a plane, it was a spaceship and this was an alien, a real, honest to goodness alien. It rasped at him and Rhys blinked, coming back to reality.

His grip steadied on it. “Are… Are you okay?”

More rasping sounds that he assumed were words.

Rhys frowned. “I don’t know how to help you, what do you need?”

It spoke more urgently, pointing to its chest and then to the ship. It did this several times.

“You… Need something from there? What do you need?”

They pointed again desperately. Rhys nodded and set them down gently. He had no idea what he needed to get, but he could at least try. He walked up to the ship and put his hand on it, pushing on it slightly, wondering if this would work. He was instantly in the ship. It was small, but there was room to walk to a bed and a desk. He shrugged his jacket off and found every loose thing he could and piled it all into it, even taking the bedding and pillow. He returned outside through the same weird process. He knelt down in front of the alien and opened his jacket, revealing everything.

It searched through things, its hands shaking furiously as it found a small round object that it pushed into its chest. A black substance spread all over it, turning into a suit with a helmet.

Rhys stared with wide eyes. “Cool!”

It sat up and looked at him, a display on its helmet flashed symbols Rhys couldn’t comprehend.

He shook his head. “I don't understand.”

It extended its hand towards Rhys’ head and Rhys kept still, not wanting to scare it off. He was dizzy the moment it touched his head, making it spin wildly.

Zer0 let go of him.

“Apologies,” they said.

“It’s oka- ay! wait! I can, I can underst-  _ you _ can understand… Just like that?” He sat there, shocked and bewildered, poking his forehead several times.

He heard it laugh quietly. “You are cute.”

Rhys blinked and smiled, feeling his cheeks heat a bit in the night air. “Thanks… So… How’d you crash?”

They started to speak, but it came out garbled and rasping once more. They cleared their throat and tried again. "Until it repairs; Will you let me stay with you; Just a couple days.”

“Huh… You’re speaking in poetry, I wonder why?” He counted the syllables out. “Yeah, it’s haiku specifically, I wonder if it’s a translation issue?” He shook his head. “Oops! I’m rambling, it doesn’t matter how you talk, sure!” He jumped to his feet. “I'll help you!”

Zer0 stood, scooping their things up in the jacket and pushing everything back into the ship. They clicked several times and Rhys watched in amazement as the ship disappeared from sight.

“WOAH!” Rhys bounced on his feet. “Oh, man this is the coolest night I’ve ever had!”

Zer0 laughed, their display flashing a very familiar symbol. “^_^!”

“Hey! Did you learn that all from me?”

Zer0 nodded.

Back in the camper, Zer0 stood next to Rhys while Rhys stood in front of the bed overlooking his two friends.

“Hey, guys!” He hissed. “Yvette, Vaughn, hey, wake up!”

The two roused from their spooning. Yvette blinked at Rhys. “What?” she snapped.

“I want you to meet someone, but you can’t scream, okay?”

Vaughn groaned and searched around for his glasses. “Rhys, you know you’re never allowed to say those words. We always end up-”

Yvette shrieked, clamping a hand to her mouth as she sat up in bed, pulling the blankets up her body to cover herself.

“Yeah,” Vaughn said, gesturing to her as he fitted his glasses to his face. He blinked and stared at the alien standing next to Rhys. “Ah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiewithink.tumblr.com/


	2. Familial Encounters

Rhys had been pining after August for a while, and today he’d finally had the courage to talk to him. The guy was so cool and reserved and such a rebel, Rhys couldn’t help the blush spreading across his cheeks as he stood in front of him.

“I want to be part of your group. I can be tough… And-”

The smirk on August’s face stilled his words. “Yeah, I’ve noticed you around. You sure you think you can fit in with us?”

“I can be a badass!”

August wrapped his arm around Rhys, chuckling and noted how red the bean pole got. “Alright, if you want to be in our group, you gotta pass a test. You gotta lie to a cop.”

The others who were standing close by snickered.

Rhys’ eyes were large, but he nodded. “Yeah, I can do that!”

Then August was pointing to a large, tough looking cop waiting in line at the coffee shop. The man was grizzled, grey and looked like he’d been through hell and back. August leaned in close, whispering “That one- silent Wil- he’s as tough as nails and just as sharp. He can spot a liar from ten miles away and kick your ass farther.”

“Oh- That… That one?” He stammered, biting his lip. August nodded, a challenging smirk on his face. Nodding back faintly, Rhys went across the street, sighing heavily. He entered the store, causing the cop, Silent Wil, to glance over. Rhys smiled and raised his hand in a tiny, hidden wave. The cop smirked and waited for Rhys to stand next to him.

“Hi, Dad,” Rhys said quietly.

“Roo, what’s up?” Wilhelm asked. “Why are we pretending not to know each other?”

“You… You remember August? I was telling you about him?”

“He’s the tough, bad-boy you have a crush on. Yeah, I've busted him at parties.”

Cheeks heating horribly, he nodded. “Well, in order to be a part of his group, I… I have to lie to a cop and they really respect you… So I gotta lie to you…”

Wilhelm grinned, looking down at Rhys. “Go on then.”

Taking a deep breath, Rhys looked into his father’s eyes. “I  _ totally _ did the dishes like you asked me to do.”

Wilhelm nodded. “You need to lower your heart rate and it’ll be perfect.”

Nodding, Rhys took a couple breaths, calming his racing heart. “I did the dishes just like you asked me to.”

“Perfect.”

Rhys smiled wide. “Thanks, Papa!”

Wilhelm chuckled. “Go on, get gone.”

Nodding, Rhys turned away.

“Oh, Roo?” Rhys looked at his dad. His dad smirked in the way that made harden criminals shudder. “You’ll have those dishes done by the time I get home.”

Rhys’ eyes widened and he nodded. “Yeah, of course!”

Wilhelm nodded, his features softening. “Good. I love you.”

“Love you, too!” Rhys left the shop, smiling wide.

He met back with the group who watched with shocked faces. August eyed Rhys. “He talked to you… He  _ smiled _ at you. How did you do that? He’s never talked with anyone of us.”

Rhys took a calming breath and shrugged. “Guess he didn’t know I was with you guys?”

August thought about that for a moment. He smirked. “Welcome to the group, Rhys.”

Clapping his hands, full of excitement, Rhys smiled even wider. “Yay!”

That caused August to shake his head and pulled Rhys with them, his warm hand around Rhys’ shoulders. “Yeah, yeah, let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiewithink.tumblr.com/


End file.
